When recent photos emerged of Katie Holmes sporting cold sores and eye bags, many blamed her dishevelled and exhausted appearance on her punishing schedule for the Broadway show All My Sons.

But, as her work on the play wraps after four months, sources close to the actress have revealed the real reason Katie is so stressed out is that she is panicking that her career is in freefall – sparking rows with her husband Tom Cruise, whom she resents for not helping her land the plum film roles
he had promised he could.

Let down by Tom
Sources claim that Tom had promised Katie, when they first began dating in 2005, that he would help her land a decent movie role so she could prove her box office worth. And the fact that he has failed to help her realise her dreams of movie superstardom is now putting a huge strain on their marriage.

“He basically told her he would manage her career and make her a big star,” says an insider. “He said that in five years, she’d be the number one female box office earner in the world. Tom really believed in Katie and that his connections would mould her into a superstar.”

Bubbling resentment
Katie is said to be particularly angry that Tom hasn’t delivered on his promise because she worked so hard proving herself on Broadway, believing that when the play finished he would finally open some doors for her.

“I didn’t want to sound weak next to them,” Katie has said of her heavyweight co-stars Dianne Wiest and John Lithgow. “I worked really hard on strengthening my voice.”

Now that the play has finished, she’s found herself jobless, with her 20s behind her, and forced to traipse the New York audition circuit just like thousands of other actresses.

Recently spotted auditioning for a bit part in Broadway play Finding Neverland, which is based on the 2004 Johnny Depp movie, theatre insiders say the role she read for “isn’t very big but it does have a few nice moments.”

“Katie’s in the worst slump of her life – and feels Tom is to blame,” said a source. Adding, “Katie can’t understand how Tom could run a big movie studio like United Artists and not be able to steer her toward an Oscar-worthy film.”